Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Weekly Review 7-11 April 2013
Trading on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) during the second week of April ended higher for most leading TASE indices

The TA-25 index did not change over the week, bringing year-to-date increase to 3.8%.

TA-100

The TA-100 index increased 0.2% over the week, bringing year-to-date increase to 4.5%.

TA-Com

The TA-Com index of communications companies stood out and increased, 7.6% over the week and bringing returns since the beginning of 2013 to 12.7%.

Government Bonds

This week the Ministry of Finance (MoF) floated US $0.4 billion government bonds in an offering on the local market. From the beginning of 2013 the MoF raised US $5.4 billion in public bond offerings.

Corporate Bonds

Two companies raised US $90 million in public bond offerings this week.

Since the beginning of the year the business sector raised US $3 billion through bond offerings. Real estate companies stood out, raising 40% of the total.

Foreign Investors

The Bank of Israel released figures this week indicating that in February foreign investors purchased shares and government bonds on TASE for a net US $220 and $300 million respectively, bringing the total of net investment for the first two months of 2013 to US $560 and $500 million respectively.

This follows 2012, in which foreign investors increased net holdings in shares equaling US $410 million and liquidated net holdings of US $230 million in government bonds.

Preliminary figures indicate that in March 2013 foreign investors liquidated net holdings of US $360 million in government bonds and US $60 million in shares.

Established in September 1935, the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange is Israel's sole securities exchange, offering an increasingly sophisticated range of products to investors, including equity, corporate bonds, treasury bills and notes, index products and derivatives.

International

In recent years, TASE has enhanced its international presence, signing Memoranda of Understanding with the London Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, NYSE-Euronext the Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Toronto Stock Exchange.